You're Sensational
by Vintage Tea Party
Summary: She wasn't going to fall in love with him. She had never even expected to until the moment she realized she already has.


Songs from another time came off of the record player as Henry and Jo danced in the living room of Henry's home. The dinner they'd shared with Abe was long gone as was he; he'd disappeared to bed long ago, leaving them alone with a smile as he left. Without any disagreement they had agreed to round off their evening with some slow dancing, a tradition that was quickly becoming one of Jo's favorite ways to spend time with Henry.

Jo had her arms wrapped around Henry's back, her hands holding onto his shoulders in an almost embrace. Her head rested against his chest and her face was pressed in close to his neck where she could feel the prickle of his stubble while also, ironically, smelling the scent of his after shave. His hands rested on her waist light but steady enough to never break contact as they swayed slightly side to side. Eventually, she felt him come to rest his head against the top of hers. They had started out a little farther apart than they were at the moment but many songs between them had driven them closer together.

She hadn't even known how to dance before Henry had taught her. She had tried to use her lack of experience as an excuse to get out of this ritual, saying "I don't know how," as if that closed the matter completely. Henry had not been so easily persuaded though. He had given her one of those devilish half smiles of his and even though she knew it was flirtatious trick she couldn't help but blush a little as he said "That's alright. I know how to lead."

That had been the end of her resistance and she wasn't sure now why she had even wanted to get out of it. Though she had put on an act for a while pretending she didn't enjoy it that much, from day one she had looked forward to these close quiet times shared with Henry. Now every time she came over to his place for dinner it was followed up by dancing and she wouldn't give it up for anything.

She had told him this only once but it continued to be true: He _was_ insanely romantic. Henry was all of those things that romance novels were made of. Even for her, in times like these, he turned on his charm. He was the definition of a gentleman, a true romantic, the kind of man that every girl wished for. He was skilled in all of the things that could quickly make any woman fall head over heels in love but not her. Except that she _was_ falling for it.

"You're Sensational" by Frank Sinatra started to play. Until she had started to spend so much time with Henry she had never listened to music from that time period or any that was even close to being that old. But Henry didn't own a CD player, a MP3 player, and it also apparently any music that was recorded within the past few decades. But he had lots of the old classics on vinyl (original ones of course) and she preferred them over most of the classical stuff he had. She even found that she had become quite fond of the old love songs but truth be told that might have had more to do with the close proximity she was able to keep with Henry while she listened to them than the actual songs themselves. Whatever the reason behind the newfound appreciation for them she knew most of them by heart now.

Henry had been humming to most of the songs but he started to sing one out loud with this one. "But you're sensational," he started to sing along softly with the song. She smiled when he started and wrapped her arms around his back so that it was even more like she was hugging him as they continued to move to the music. He had a lovely singing voice and she enjoyed it when he sang. She wouldn't tell him as much of course (no need to inflate his ego further) but with her face hidden away from his gaze she let her true pleasure be displayed. His breath tickled the side of her face, his mouth close to her ear whispering the words to her.

"Making love is quite an art, what you require, is the proper squire, to fire your heart…" he continued to sing along and as he did Jo noticed something. She noticed something in the tone of his voice, a passion, a desire unconcealed that she had never heard before. It was almost like Henry wasn't just singing along to the song; it was more like he was saying the words, singing them _to_ her. It was as if he meant them for her. Each word had so much feeling, so much love in it, that she had never heard from him, that he had never said to her. But it was obviously something that that he felt inside.

She realized then that Henry's hands were no longer resting on her waist. They had found their way to rest on her hips instead. It wasn't low enough that it would be considered improper, even by his standards, but it was definitely out of what would be thought of as friend territory. He even took it a step further brushing his thumbs back and forth, tracing along her hip bones, sending chills all the way down into her toes. It seemed as if he was testing the waters. She hadn't been aware they were crossing into new territory but she was sure she wasn't going to stop him.

He had also moved in closer, his mouth now right beside her ear, his lips so close they almost kissed her as they moved. "And if you say, that one fine day, you'll let me come to call, we'll have a ball…"

In their current position, having arrived there without decision, she knew now that they weren't testing any new territory; they were already there. Henry wasn't trying to see how far he could take things between them. He was waiting to see if she would notice how far things already were between them. Henry was hiding behind this song, in a way, using it to really talk to her. Behind it's pretense he was telling her how he felt and hoping she noticed. And boy did she ever.

"Cause you're sensational, s _ensational_ ," he said with obvious conviction and direct affection for her. She was pretty sure that Henry was the only person who could convey so much emotion in one single word. She looked up into his face and there she saw the same emotions she could hear in his voice. He watched her, to see her reaction and she was pretty sure he could see what she was feeling as well.

"That's all, that's all, that's all," he said with a smile, as he brushed her cheek with his hand just once, finishing the last line of the song, letting his voice fade out quietly with the music.

The record came to an end and the room was filled with silence but they stood as they were but no longer swaying. She tucked her face against him again trying to deal with the surprise before she looked up at him.

Falling in love was a strange thing. On the one hand it was the most out of control feeling you'd ever have. In a lot of ways it really did feel like falling. It felt like you were tumbling down a rabbit hole, flailing but unable to stop yourself or do anything within your own power to determine where you'd go. But on the other hand it was the most _right_ feeling you would ever experience. At the same time you felt yourself spinning out of control you also felt more held in place and belonging than was ever possible otherwise.

It was madness, truly, and she'd done it exactly once in her life. She'd had a lot of relationships but falling in love was another thing. She had lost her faith in that. She'd seen a lot of bad relationships in her time. It had never seemed to end well for those around her. She hadn't even meant to do it the one time she had. But her and Sean had fallen and hard too and it had ended better than she could have ever hoped for. Until it ended. She really never had expected to experience it, even once in her life and after she had lost it she thought it was lost to her forever.

She wouldn't even think to try for a second time. She'd been fortunate enough to have it once and it would have been pressing luck to try again. And she hadn't been trying to. In fact, she realized she'd been running from it ever since Sean's death. She'd had a string of one night stands as proof she wasn't interested in anything even remotely close to being long term. One night stands were easy; falling in love wasn't.

She hadn't ever expected to fall in love again especially not with Henry. Not her partner and friend Henry. It had never even crossed her mind as a possibility so she had never even protected herself against it. But she'd already gone and done it. She _did_ love him. It took hearing how he felt for her to realize that she reciprocated those feelings. Those feelings were there in her as well and had been for a long time now.

She felt tears flood her eyes and she buried her face a little deeper in Henry's chest. She had only just discovered it but she realized how much she wanted it. She knew what Henry and her had was so good and she knew now that it could be even better. She wanted it, all of it. At the same time she was filled with terror at wanting it. She knew what it was like to lose this once you had it. She was already afraid of this thing she'd just discovered and now desired, being taken away from her.

She felt Henry's arms move in to encircle her at the waist holding her close as if to emphasize that feeling of safety and belonging that falling in love could be. The way he held her wasn't in any way indecent but it flooded her with excitement. Being held so close to him made her feel anticipation like she hadn't felt in years.

"Henry," she said finally looking up at him with surprise in her voice and slightly frightened eyes.

"It's alright," he said quietly, trying to calm her as if he knew the storm that was raging inside of her. Maybe he did. She felt one of his hands gently rubbing her back.

"I wasn't going to do this," she said, her voice strained, a contrast of so many things; of fear and denial warring with desire and pleasure. This scared her to death.

"Do what?" he gently prodded.

"I wasn't…going to fall in love with you."

A ghost of a smile passed over Henry's lips, betraying the emotions he must be trying to contain. He was pleased. It was the kind of pleasure that came from waiting, from longing finally satisfied. Though it was just barely there she could see it. Henry had been waiting on this.

"I know."

"This isn't a surprise to you?" she asked though it was already quite obvious to her that it wasn't.

"No," he said shaking his head slightly, the corner of his mouth now curling up in that charming smile of his, "not a surprise. But certainly it's a pleasure."

"I didn't know this was happening. How did you?"

He smiled a full smile now, a knowing smile, one of true happiness. It was full of all the good things she wanted to feel about this but that her fear was trying to chase away. "Because I've already tried to talk myself out of it, like you're doing now…and failed miserably," he said with a small laugh, obviously happy to be defeated.

She couldn't help but laugh a little though there were tears at the corners of her eyes. "Talk yourself out of what?" she prodded, wanting him to admit it now.

He smiled, knowing what she wanted. "Of falling in love with you entirely."

She smiled, more pleased than she had expected to hear him say so. "Just waiting for me to catch up, huh?" she asked.

He smiled, looking away for a second embarrassed, before meeting her eyes once again. "I had my hopes that you might."

"Have you been waiting long?"

"I guess that depends on your definition of a long time," he admitted almost like it was a bad thing.

Of course it wasn't a bad thing and she didn't think it was. She only hated that it had taken her so long to understand it. She couldn't quite believe that Henry had had affections for her for a while now and she'd never known. She kicked herself for wasting time they could have had together. "Sorry; I'm a little slow on the uptake."

"That's alright. I've got the time."

She paused not knowing quite what to say next. He was patient as she battled with her nerves. She reached a hand to the collar of his shirt and played with it nervously a bit. He reached for her hand and took it in his. It was so strong around hers. How had she never noticed that?

"I don't know how," she finally admitted looking up at him. It was a plea for help, for guidance in this new and exciting but scary prospect. He'd had longer to think about this so surely he would know more of how to proceed.

He smiled, that same devious half smile that he had given her when she'd asked for help learning how to dance. The similarities were not lost on him. "That's alright. I know how to lead."

He was a gentleman so he would wait. She knew this so she leaned up on her toes, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck and pulling her face in close to his. It was meant to be a clear indication to him that she was ready. "You are completely sensational," he whispered, his take on the lyrics, before leaning in and kissing her.

They held the kiss and swayed back and forth as if the music had never stopped playing. At this particular moment, Jo was sure it never would stop.


End file.
